A Review of the Book "On Writing" by Stephen King

Title: On Writing

Author: Stephen King

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc

Year: 2000

316 pages

A while ago, I decided that I needed help in getting to be a better writer. A friend of mine, who is a prolific writer, recommended I read Stephen King's "On Writing". I had read some of King's novels a long time ago and I know full well he is known for scary and weird stories meant to give you nightmares, but I guarantee this is nothing like that!

With an amazing sense of humour, King provides both autobiography and "how to" lessons all wrapped up in one book. The writing is incredible as you would expect from such a giant in the world of horror novels.

The "how to" part of the book is definitely geared more towards someone who wants to delve into the craft of fiction writing, but the lessons gained from reading "On Writing" can be translated into any type of writing, whether it be short stories, articles, or non-fiction. While the book is over 20 years old, and the path to publishing might be a little different now (he gives some advice on how to get yourself published), the tools given by King are just as good now as they were two decades ago.

So if you think you might want to be a writer, or already are a writer but wants some tricks of the trade, or if you're simply a fan of Stephen King and want to learn a bit about his life, this is an amazing book. King's skill at writing makes this book one you can't put down, even though it's a non-fiction piece. And trust me, while you get plenty of screams from his usual stories, "On Writing" will give you plenty of laughs.